In July at SEC Media Days, Alabama head coach Nick Saban compared the Crimson Tide’s quarterback battle to a cake being baked by his Grandmother when he was a kid.

The reference to his grandmother’s cake was an attempt to explain his hesitance in announcing the starter at QB. Eventually, Saban’s choice would be Jalen Milroe. The redshirt-sophomore would go on to lead Bama to a 56-7 victory over Middle Tennessee State University this past Saturday.

Saban’s logic was why make the announcement so early when the race was close and it wasn’t guaranteed that particular QB would start any other game going forward? His focus was on the end product. Just like the cake wouldn’t be right if it comes out of the oven too early, the quarterback situation could fail if you’re impatient.

He also refused to release a depth chart at his weekly press conference. Something he always does on the Monday before the first game. It’s the first time he didn’t release one in the 17 seasons he’s been in Tuscaloosa. His logic there was that he didn’t want any one player feeling their role was any less than another player ahead of them on the depth chart.

Sounds logical to me.

Perhaps the number one reason Saban is so successful is because he knows how to adapt to each player, coach, team, or situation. This is looking to be the case here, as well.

Now, to Milroe.

It’s not like Milroe was battling scrubs for the starting spot. Ty Simpson, a 5-star recruit, was looked at as the front-runner, and Tyler Buchner was a transfer with experience from Notre Dame. But it was frustrating for the media and some fans who grew impatient over time.

As camp went on it was expected that Milroe would be named starter for the opening game vs MTSU. Saban just refused to say so. Of course, it wouldn’t be Bama if that decision wasn’t met with criticism by fans and media.

But it was Milroe who had the last laugh, at least for one week, after a record-breaking 5 TD performance vs the Blue Raiders. No Alabama QB ever threw for 3 TD’s and rushed for 2 more like Milroe.

Truth be told, it’s difficult to find a former Bama QB who compares to Milroe. Sure, there have been athletic QB’s. They weren’t quite Jalen Milroe athletic. Another Bama QB named Jalen can certainly hang, however.

Milroe’s situation being named starter is easily comparable to a couple recent Bama QB’s. Both of them were quite successful despite deep criticism.

Blake Sims

The 2014 season was one of the rare times since the Nick Saban dynasty began that the Tide didn’t begin the season ranked number one. Bama started at number two, mostly due to the overall doubt that senior QB Blake Sims could get the job done as the starter. This year’s team has questions in several areas. But the main question is, Milroe or whoever the quarterback is.

Similar to Milroe, Sims had a shaky start to his collegiate career. In fact, there were thoughts of having Sims change positions from QB to running back. Similarly, in 2021, many Bama fans wanted Nick Saban to consider playing Milroe at running back because of depth issues. Saban scoffed at the idea and reiterated the importance for him to stay at QB, both for Milroe and the team.

Sims did see action at QB. AJ McArron was the starter ahead of Sims. But the action he saw was mostly mop up duty during blowouts, again very similar to Milroe.

Sims was unquestionably much better with his legs rather than his arm. However, he constantly improved, and Bama had a pretty explosive passing attack on the way to winning the SEC Title and losing to Ohio State in the first ever College Football Playoff.

The Crimson Tide plays for national championships, period. But that 2013 team, led by Sims, was successful. A similar season by Milroe would ultimately be disappointing for Bama. But it would be a huge win for Milroe and the team, especially with most people favoring Georgia or LSU in the SEC.

Mac Jones

The current New England Patriots starting QB shares some similarities with Milroe, as well.

Obviously, those similarities exclude athleticism. But the similarities are abundant when it comes to doubt in their abilities.

Jones was pretty highly recruited. He was a four-star, just like Milroe. But Jones was beaten out by 5-star Tua Tagovailoa. After sitting behind Tua and Jalen Hurts, another 5-star was supposed to beat him out in his junior season (2020). Everyone, media and fans alike, thought Bryce Young starting as a freshman was a done deal.

It became highly expected that Jones would transfer. But he opted to stay. Good thing he did. Saban named him starter over Young. Mac went on to break just about every single season passing record at Bama and in the SEC. He became a Heisman Trophy finalist, NFL first round draft pick, and Bama went undefeated on their way to the 6th national title of the Saban era.

Before that 2020 season, Jones actually had a two game opportunity to show what he could do. Tua went down to injury vs Mississippi State. Jones replaced him for the rest of that game and started the Iron Bowl vs Auburn.

Sound familiar?

Bama ended up beating the Bulldogs. But they lost to Auburn 48-46. Jones threw two pick 6’s in the game. However, the Tide’s offense was still highly productive under Jones’ leadership. Still, few felt he was fit for the job over a 5-star QB like Young.

Lots of similarities between Jones and Milroe. But there are differences.

Jones had receivers like Jaylen Waddle and John Metchie. Then, there was the guy that beat him out for the Heisman, DeVonta Smith. Milroe doesn’t have talent like that to work with. However, sleeping on the weapons surrounding him would not be advised.

Jones led what would become, statiscally, the greatest offense in SEC history. Crazily, it happened the very next year after Joe Burrow did the same thing at LSU.

Now, no one’s saying Milroe should start preparing a suit for a trip to NYC for the Heisman ceremonies. But he won’t need to have that type season for Bama to be successful and contend for a national title.

It can happen again

The book on Milroe, coming into the season, was very incomplete. Judging him on two games where he stood in for Bryce Young was not a big enough sample to say he can’t do this or that.

Three turnovers vs Texas A&M or any team is concerning. However, the Aggies defense was pretty stout last season. Really not much shame in a young QB having a bad game vs a good defense. The week prior vs Arkansas he came in cold but didn’t turn the ball over. Yet, somehow, Milroe was labeled a ‘Turnover machine.’

Alabama actually won those two games.

Bama fans have every right to feel concerned about Milroe going forward through this season. But as proven with very recent Bama teams and QB situations, there’s also reason to believe this team can accomplish all of its goals.

Just remember where another Jalen was in his career at Bama. Jalen Hurts is another example of a quarterback that was heavily criticized. But in the end, he proved them wrong. Don’t be surprised if the criticisms are suddenly silenced for this Bama QB named Jalen, also.